Numerical and Experimental Analyses of Percussion-Driven Earth Anchors (PDEAs) under Monotonic Pullout Tests

In engineering construction projects, foundation systems often require resistance to vertical uplift and horizontal pullout loads, with tension members like percussion-driven earth anchors (PDEAs) being a preferred choice. This study focuses on a laboratory pullout experiment involving a PDEA (Duckbill model 88 with a 7.9 mm wired tendon cable) in poorly graded sand (SP). The soil box dimensions are 1,000 (L) × 900 (H) × 300 (W) mm, and the anchor was pushed to a depth of 750 mm using a hydraulic jack. The pullout force and anchor displacement were measured using a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) and a load cell. A numerical model in ABAQUS, employing the combined Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) approach, was used and validated against the experimental test. The numerical analysis showed that increasing anchor embedment depth by 13% led to a 78% higher pullout load in the numerical analysis.